


Touch the Stars

by alexygalexy



Series: Voltron Week 2016 [1]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Gen, Nonbinary Pidge | Katie Holt, also takes place when pidge is a wee child, one for she pronouns and one the exact same but with them pronouns, read whichever you prefer, theres two chapters
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-11
Updated: 2016-08-11
Packaged: 2018-08-08 01:52:27
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,489
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7738870
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/alexygalexy/pseuds/alexygalexy
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Pidge’s 10th birthday is the most exciting one she’s ever had, because it’s the day she FINALLY gets to go to work with her dad and Matt; finally gets to see the garrison and the training programs and everything in person; finally gets to feel as though she could actually make it up there to the stars.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is a she/her Pidge story. If you’d prefer to read it as they/them Pidge click to the next chapter. It's the exact same, just with Pidge's pronouns changed.

Pidge looked at the clock on her nightstand, which was flashing a dull green against the growing blackness in her bedroom. She had watched as the numbers faded from 9:00 to 10:00 and now they were nearing 11:00. It was far past the time she usually went to sleep, but this particular night brought too many feelings of excitement for her to even close her eyes. This particular night happened to be the last night Pidge would ever be nine years old. Tomorrow, she turned ten.

 

She rolled over, partly to expose her back to the slight breeze sneaking into the stuffy room through the window and partly to get a change of view. Not that looking at black shadows was much of a difference from looking at black shadows and the alarm clock, but Pidge didn’t really care. Her eyes scanned lazily over the dim room, tracing the outlines furniture she knew was there but couldn’t quite make out. She rolled back to the alarm clock.

 

10:56

 

10:57

 

10:58

 

Pidge sighed (quietly, she didn’t want Mama and Papa to know she was still awake). She _wanted_ to fall asleep because that meant tomorrow would come faster, but the adrenaline of thinking about what tomorrow was wouldn’t let her. She stuck a hand out in front of her, wiggling her fingers. She could barely make out the movement through the blanket of darkness. When she held them still, she couldn’t see her hand at all.

 

She rolled onto her back and stared at the ceiling. The glow-in-the-dark solar system plastered there was too old to glow anymore, but she could’ve sworn she could still see the smallest light coming off of Pluto. She remembered when she and Papa put it up, Papa standing on her bed and reaching high over his head to stick the planets on one by one. Pidge shouted out the names as he did it, giggling as she mixed up Mars with Mercury.

 

She remembered the first night she had gone to bed almost an hour early, just to be sure she was there when the room got dark enough to let the planets glow. It was one of the most satisfying things she’d seen at that point in her life - those planets shining on her ceiling, so close she could almost touch them.

 

Of course, that had been almost four years ago. Pidge had seen far cooler things after that. Like the time she went to the planetarium with her school and they showed the constellations moving gracefully through the sky as a whole year of stars cycled by. Pidge had dragged Papa into the gift shop to buy her a constellation map. It still sat on her wall, held up by the same sturdy thumbtacks that she had pushed in on the first day she proudly brought it home; but now the edges were curled and torn and some of the names had faded from Pidge constantly running her fingers across the map.

 

Pidge pushed herself up with her hands, letting the sheet fall off her torso as she sat. She leaned forwards, precariously close to toppling off the bed. If she squinted real hard and tilted her head just right, she thought she could make out Orion’s Belt through her window.

 

She swung her legs so they dangled off the bed and let herself down, careful to land quietly. She tiptoed over to the window and pressed her forehead to the glass. She gazed up, getting a much better view of the sky than from her bed. She was right, she could see Orion’s Belt - and the rest of Orion too.

 

Her gaze trailed down and to the left, where she thought she could glimpse the star Sirius. Sirius was the nose of Canis Major, but the rest of the dog constellation was hidden behind the trees in her backyard. She knew it was there - she’d held up her map to the window enough times, glancing back and forth between the two until she could pick out all the constellations in the night sky. If it was a clearer night, she would be able to see Monoceros and Lepus too.

 

She drew her head back, leaving a smudge on the window where her nose had been pressed. She crossed her arms on top of the window sill, and let her chin settle on them. She could still see the night sky, though not quite as much of it. There were so many stars out there. She was grateful she lived in the country where the nights were truly dark and even the dimmest stars were visible.

 

They twinkled on the treetops, almost as if the two were actually touching. Pidge had tried that once - to climb a tree so she could touch the stars. She barely got two feet up the trunk before getting stuck and coming down. The stars were much further than she had imagined.

 

Pidge’s eyelids were getting droopy now. The familiarity of the stars calmed her, letting her mind think of things besides her birthday. She sat there, staring at the glittering lights outside her window, until her eyes closed for good. The sun woke her up the next morning, streaming through the glass and right onto her face, still propped up on her arms from the night before.

  


* * *

  


Pidge half-tumbled down the stairs and sprinted towards the kitchen. It was early enough, Papa and Matt should still be here. To her relief, they were.

 

“Good morning, Birthday Girl,” Papa cooed, setting down his coffee to grab his daughter and swing her into his arms.

 

“Morning Papa!” Pidge called back.

 

Papa Holt looked his daughter up and down, chuckling.

 

“What on earth are you wearing, you silly?” he asked.

 

“The Garrison Uniform,” Pidge replied. She was indeed wearing the orange and white jacket, though several sizes too big for her. She pushed up the sleeves only to have them slip down over her hands within a few seconds. The bottom pooled in her lap as she sat with her father, far too long for her small torso. “I’ve got to be in uniform when I go today,” she informed her father.

 

“I didn’t know you were joining the Garrison,” Papa commented with a chuckle, setting his daughter back on the ground so he could resume his breakfast.

 

“Uh huh,” said Pidge, nodding her head enthusiastically. “I’m coming with you and Matt.”

 

Papa sighed. “Pidge, we’ve talked about this. You’re too young.”

 

“Not anymore I’m not.” She grinned. “You said it yourself, I’m the Birthday Girl and that means I’m ten now. You said I could come with you and Matt when I’m ten. So I can come now. And I’m gonna.”

 

Papa glanced at Mama over the rims of his glasses.

 

“Don’t look at me, Sam,” she said. “Pidge is off school today, I can’t stop her from going.”

 

Papa sunk into his chair slightly, deflated. He looked down at his daughter, bouncing wildly with a huge grin to match the huge jacket she was wearing. He sighed again.

 

“Alright, kiddo. Guess you’re taking a trip with Papa and Matt today.”

 

* * *

 

“Whoah! Can I touch that?” Pidge exclaimed. She had been lead into the monitor room, so she could watch Papa, Matt, and their crewmate Shiro in flight simulation. She had barely cleared the doorway before she was bounding towards the panel of computers lining one wall (the wall directly opposite the monitor screens she was supposed to be watching). Her eyes widened as she leaned towards them, hands hovering over the equipment but not daring to touch it.

 

“Ah, no, sorry. Those are government property.”

 

Pidge’s hands fell dejectedly at her side. She stepped back, then turned to the officer who was with her to make a request.

 

“Can _you_ touch them? And show me how they work and stuff?” she questioned.

 

The officer was speechless for a second. “I-I guess so, sure,” he answered.

 

He moved towards one of the monitors, Pidge trailing close behind and chattering endlessly.

 

“What kind of code do these run? Is it like Java? Or are these PHP computers? What do they control? Do they run the simulator? Can you manipulate the simulator while it’s live or can you only change stuff when it’s not in use? What - ” Pidge cut herself short as the official held up a hand. He made her close her eyes while he typed in a security key for one of the monitors.

 

Endless lines of text swam before her eyes. This code was live and running. Pidge drew in a sharp breath. She was really seeing this. These letters and numbers and symbols - she knew them. She recognized them. If the code wasn’t moving so fast she could’ve picked out some individual commands. Her hand reached towards the monitor, fingertips pressing against the screen before she could stop herself. This was real, this was it.

 

These were the commands that sent people to space. These were the commands that trained pilots and engineers and technicians and made them the best of the best. These were the commands that set up rockets and satellites and telescopes and sent them on the right path. These were the commands that let scientists create any machine they needed and get information from every corner of the galaxy. These were the commands that could let her touch the stars and they were right here in front of her eyes.

 

Pidge let out a shuddery breath. She was still on Earth, but this was closer than she’d ever gotten before. She didn’t need a tree to climb, she needed these commands, the ones scrolling across the screen she was still touching. She could get there, she could feel it in the cool glass of the monitor screen and the dim neon green of the code on the black screen. It reminded her of her alarm clock last night, but this was far more real.

  
This wasn’t a constellation map tacked to a bedroom wall, this was a map straight into the sky. All she had to do was follow these instructions and she could get there. She could follow Papa and Matt, and these symbols moving across the screen would tell her how. She would touch the stars. If she could touch this computer screen, she could touch the stars, and nothing could ever stop her before she got there.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Pidge’s 10th birthday is the most exciting one they’ve ever had, because it’s the day they FINALLY gets to go to work with their dad and Matt; finally gets to see the garrison and the training programs and everything in person; finally gets to feel as though they could actually make it up there to the stars.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a they/them Pidge story. If you’d prefer to read it as she/her Pidge click to the previous chapter

Pidge looked at the clock on their nightstand, which was flashing a dull green against the growing blackness in their bedroom. They had watched as the numbers faded from 9:00 to 10:00 and now they were nearing 11:00. It was far past the time they usually went to sleep, but this particular night brought too many feelings of excitement for them to even close their eyes. This particular night happened to be the last night Pidge would ever be nine years old. Tomorrow, they turned ten.    
  
They rolled over, partly to expose their back to the slight breeze sneaking into the stuffy room through the window and partly to get a change of view. Not that looking at black shadows was much of a difference from looking at black shadows and the alarm clock, but Pidge didn’t really care. Their eyes scanned lazily over the dim room, tracing the outlines furniture they knew was there but couldn’t quite make out. They rolled back to the alarm clock.    
  
10:56   
  
10:57   
  
10:58   
  
Pidge sighed (quietly, they didn’t want Mama and Papa to know they was still awake). They wanted to fall asleep because that meant tomorrow would come faster, but the adrenaline of thinking about what tomorrow was wouldn’t let them. They stuck a hand out in front of them, wiggling their fingers. They could barely make out the movement through the blanket of darkness. When they held still, they couldn’t see their hand at all.    
  
They rolled onto their back and stared at the ceiling. The glow-in-the-dark solar system plastered there was too old to glow anymore, but they could’ve sworn they could still see the smallest light coming off of Pluto. They remembered when they put it up with Papa; Papa standing on their bed and reaching high over his head to stick the planets on one by one. Pidge shouted out the names as he did it, giggling as they mixed up Mars with Mercury.    
  
They remembered the first night they had gone to bed almost an hour early, just to be sure they were there when the room got dark enough to let the planets glow. It was one of the most satisfying things they'd seen at that point in her life - those planets shining on their ceiling, so close they could almost touch them.    
  
Of course, that had been almost four years ago. Pidge had seen far cooler things after that. Like the time they went to the planetarium with their school and saw the constellations moving gracefully through the sky as a whole year of stars cycled by. Pidge had dragged Papa into the gift shop to buy them a constellation map. It still sat on their wall, held up by the same sturdy thumbtacks that they had pushed in on the first day they proudly brought it home; but now the edges were curled and torn and some of the names had faded from Pidge constantly running their fingers across the map.   
  
Pidge pushed themself up with their hands, letting the sheet fall off their torso as they sat. They leaned forwards, precariously close to toppling off the bed. If they squinted real hard and tilted their head just right, they thought they could make out Orion’s Belt through their window.    
  
They swung her legs so they dangled off the bed and let themself down, careful to land quietly. They tiptoed over to the window and pressed their forehead to the glass. They gazed up, getting a much better view of the sky than from on their bed. They were right, they could see Orion’s Belt - and the rest of Orion too.    
  
Their gaze trailed down and to the left, where they thought they could glimpse the star Sirius. Sirius was the nose of Canis Major, but the rest of the dog constellation was hidden behind the trees in their backyard. They knew it was there - they'd held up her map to the window enough times, glancing back and forth between the two until they could pick out all the constellations in the night sky. If it was a clearer night, they would be able to see Monoceros and Lepus too.    
  
They drew their head back, leaving a smudge on the window where their nose had been pressed. They crossed their arms on top of the window sill, and let their chin settle on them. They could still see the night sky, though not quite as much of it. There were so many stars out there. They were grateful they lived in the country where the nights were truly dark and even the dimmest stars were visible.    
  
The stars twinkled on the treetops, almost as if the two were actually touching. Pidge had tried that once - to climb a tree so they could touch the stars. They barely got two feet up the trunk before getting stuck and coming down. The stars were much further than they had imagined.   
  
Pidge’s eyelids were getting droopy now. The familiarity of the stars calmed them, letting their mind think of things besides their birthday. They sat there, staring at the glittering lights outside her window, until their eyes closed for good. The sun woke them up the next morning, streaming through the glass and right onto their face, still propped up on their arms from the night before.    
  
  


* * *

  
  
  
Pidge half-tumbled down the stairs and sprinted towards the kitchen. It was early enough, Papa and Matt should still be here. To their relief, the two were.    
  
“Good morning, Birthday Kid,” Papa cooed, setting down his coffee to grab his child and swing them into his arms.    
  
“Morning Papa!” Pidge called back.   
  
Papa Holt looked his kid up and down, chuckling.   
  
“What on earth are you wearing, you silly?” he asked.   
  
“The Garrison Uniform,” Pidge replied. They were indeed wearing the orange and white jacket, though several sizes too big for them. They pushed up the sleeves only to have them slip down over their hands within a few seconds. The bottom pooled in their lap as they sat with their father, far too long for their small torso. “I’ve got to be in uniform when I go today,” they informed their father.   
  
“I didn’t know you were joining the Garrison,” Papa commented with a chuckle, setting his child back on the ground so he could resume his breakfast.   
  
“Uh huh,” said Pidge, nodding their head enthusiastically. “I’m coming with you and Matt.”   
  
Papa sighed. “Pidge, we’ve talked about this. You’re too young.”   
  
“Not anymore I’m not.” They grinned. “You said it yourself, I’m the Birthday Kid and that means I’m ten now. You said I could come with you and Matt when I’m ten. So I can come now. And I’m gonna.”   
  
Papa glanced at Mama over the rims of his glasses.   
  
“Don’t look at me, Sam,” they said. “Pidge is off school today, I can’t stop them from going.”   
  
Papa sunk into his chair slightly, deflated. He looked down at Pidge, bouncing wildly with a huge grin to match the huge jacket they were wearing. He sighed again.    
  
“Alright, kiddo. Guess you’re taking a trip with Papa and Matt today.”   
  


* * *

  
  
“Whoah! Can I touch that?” Pidge exclaimed. They had been lead into the monitor room, so they could watch Papa, Matt, and their crewmate Shiro in flight simulation. They had barely cleared the doorway before they were bounding towards the panel of computers lining one wall (the wall directly opposite the monitor screens they were supposed to be watching). Their eyes widened as they leaned towards the technology, hands hovering over the equipment but not daring to touch it.    
  
“Ah, no, sorry. Those are government property.”   
  
Pidge’s hands fell dejectedly at their side. They stepped back, then turned to the officer who was with them to make a request.    
  
“Can  _ you _ touch them? And show me how they work and stuff?” they questioned.    
  
The officer was speechless for a second. “I-I guess so, sure,” he answered.   
  
He moved towards one of the monitors, Pidge trailing close behind and chattering endlessly.    
  
“What kind of code do these run? Is it like Java? Or are these PHP computers? What do they control? Do they run the simulator? Can you manipulate the simulator while it’s live or can you only change stuff when it’s not in use? What - ” Pidge cut themself short as the official held up a hand. He made them close their eyes while he typed in a security key for one of the monitors.    
  
Endless lines of text swam before their eyes. This code was live and running. Pidge drew in a sharp breath. They were really seeing this. These letters and numbers and symbols - they knew them. They recognized them. If the code wasn’t moving so fast they could’ve picked out some individual commands. Their hand reached towards the monitor, fingertips pressing against the screen before they could stop themself. This was real, this was it.    
  
These were the commands that sent people to space. These were the commands that trained pilots and engineers and technicians and made them the best of the best. These were the commands that set up rockets and satellites and telescopes and sent them on the right path. These were the commands that let scientists create any machine they needed and get information from every corner of the galaxy. These were the commands that could let them touch the stars and they were right here in front of their eyes.    
  
Pidge let out a shuddery breath. They were still on Earth, but this was closer to space than they'd ever gotten before. They didn’t need a tree to climb, they needed these commands, the ones scrolling across the screen they were still touching. They could get there, they could feel it in the cool glass of the monitor screen and the dim neon green of the code on the black screen. It reminded them of their alarm clock last night, but this was far more real.    
  
This wasn’t a constellation map tacked to a bedroom wall, this was a map straight into the sky. All they had to do was follow these instructions and they could get there. They could follow Papa and Matt, and these symbols moving across the screen would tell them how. They would touch the stars. If they could touch this computer screen, they could touch the stars, and nothing could ever stop them before they got there.    


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (I have more notes on the previous chapter if you wanna look. They're not that interesting.)

**Author's Note:**

> Written for Day 1 of Voltron Week 2016 (Theme: Space/Travel)
> 
> I did have an alternate ending in which Pidge messes with the computer code at the garrison and then blames themself when the Kerberos mission goes wrong because what if they messed up something important but i couldn't bring myself to actually write that out i just. couldnt do it.


End file.
